When the fun stops: Inside the scores of abandoned theme parks across America

Amusement parks are supposed to be the scene of some your happiest memories: whether it be the speed of the
roller-coasters or the serenity of a Ferris wheel, there really is 'fun
for all the family' at many of these attractions around the world.

But when the people don't come and these fantasy lands are left to fall into rack and ruin, they appear to take an other-worldliness unto themselves.

An eerie feeling is natural as you look through the pictures of abandoned theme parks and try to imagine the people, the smiles, the screams, the fun and the memories of days gone by.

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Desolation: This eerie photograph shows a corroded rollercoaster soaring into the sky behind a graffiti-covered ride at the abandoned Six Flags theme park, New Orleans

Faded grandeur: These once proud buildings are now slowly falling apart after they were devastated by the floods - but the graffiti oddly supplies a note of hope

New Orleans has made a remarkable recovery since the city was devastated by flooding during Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

These images show how one part of the Big Easy has yet to be revived - its Six Flags theme park.

The photographs, taken over several years, reveal an almost post-apocalyptic landscape dominated by twisted and corroded rides, now silent forever.

Graffiti covers many of the buildings, welcoming visitors to 'Zombieland' - a fitting name for the eerie park, which has been completely abandoned.

In 2009 the revealed it planned to
work with Nickelodeon to create the company's biggest-ever theme park,
which would create 600 jobs, but the $165million project has failed to
materialise.

Until then, Six Flags will remain as a haunting memorial to the devastation of Katrina

Paradise lost: Weeds have been left to grow over many of the abandoned rides.
Evidence of Hurricane Katrina in 2005 is obvious on this rusting
rollercoaster car, (left).

Washed out: The colour has faded from this once-jaunty sign for a SpongeBob Square Pants ride

Destruction: There are no longer any lines at this loop-the-loop (left). These computers, (right), were smashed to pieces by the floods,

Fallen silent: This carousel has been left to rust away like the rest of the park, which was already losing money before Katrina hit

A theme park dedicated to the Bible may seem like a scary place for atheists and non-believers.

When it comes to the now-defunct Holy
Land USA amusement park, however, even the most devout visitors can
agree that it is an eerie place.

Construction on the Waterbury,
Connecticut theme park began in 1955 when a religious local lawyer named
John Greco who created the 19-acre park as a place for pilgrimages and
an entertaining way for interested visitors to learn about the Bible.

In its peak during the 1960s and 1970s, the crowds topped 40,000 annually, but that didn't stop it from closing in 1984.

Even though it was placed in the care of a group of nuns, it fell into serious disrepair and remains abandoned today.

Unholy: Construction on the park began in 1955 and it became very popular in the 1960s and 1970s but it shuttered in 1984

Visible to all: The 56-foot cross (left) in Holy Land USA theme park could be seen by drivers on a nearby highway in Waterbury, Connecticut and not just the thousands of visitors who went to the park in it's heyday. A village like one described in the Bible was left abandoned on one of the park's hills (right)

Not Mickey Mouse: The abandoned Holy Land amusement park leaves a plethora of strange and peculiar artifacts

Another such abandoned park sits at the top of a winding North Carolina
mountain road: the entrance to Oz, a 1970s theme park abandoned less
than 10 years after it opened.

In
its heyday the Land of Oz could attract 20,000 visitors a day, but now
the neglected Yellow Brick Road is missing some bricks, the Wicked Witch
of the West's castle is empty and the Emerald City has disappeared.

In
the same way the Wizard of Oz created the Emerald City to wow his
subjects, entrepreneur Grover Robbins dreamed up the Beech Mountain
theme park as a way of attracting families - and money - to the resort
town.

Abandoned and forgotten, the park
became a target for vandals and thieves, who destroyed or stole props in
the park, including entire houses.The
park was designed originally to walk tourists through the story,
starting with the farmhouse, where Aunt Em could be found in the
kitchen.

All hope is not lost for the Land of
Oz though. In the 1990s project Emerald Mountain was started by a group
of kind-hearted volunteers who, with a little bit of the Cowardly Lion's
courage and the Scarecrow's brains, have slowly restored the park.

Tourists
are still welcome at the Land of Oz where they have the option of
hiring a costume and going in search of the Emerald City.

Keep out: The gates to Oz, which attracted 400,000 visitors in its first summer, closed ten years after the park started

Goodbye yellow brick road: The Yellow Brick Road weaves through the abandoned theme park, which has been the victim of fire and theft since closing

Wonderful theme park of Oz: The Yellow Brick Road wound its way through the park, leading tourists to a replica Emerald City. Dorothy's house, the castle of the Wicked Witch of the West and the Munchkin village were all faithfully recreated.

In the heart of America sits Wichita's 'Joyland'.

In its heyday, thousands of families from across Kansas would flock to the park to scream and yell on the wooden rollercoaster and listen to Louie the clown play on his Wurlitzer organ.

Now the loudspeakers stand silent and corroded, the bright yellow big wheel is faded and rusting - and the dodgems sit mournfully with no-one to ride them.

In the late 1960s, the Ottoway
brothers retired and sold Joyland to Stanley and Margaret Nelson, who
ran the park for more than 30 years.

They added 24 rides including
dodgems, a log flume and a Ferris wheel. They also opened a Whacky Shack
dark ride, one of the few left in the country.

But as Joyland began to age, rides
fell into disrepair and attendance dropped. Eventually the couple ran
into financial difficulties, and in 2004 they were forced to close the
park.

Closed for business: Letters have fallen off this 'closed for the season' sign as the elements take their toll

Haunted house? The once colourful buildings have been left to nature and are covered in weeds

Faded grandeur: The rollercoaster is one of the last remaining Philadelphia Toboggan Company wooden coasters in existence. It originally opened along with the park in 1949

Failed campaign: Residents have tried to revive the park several times, but their efforts have failed due to a lack of support

All over: This once-popular ride is now rusting away along with the rest of the amusement park, which was opened in 1949 to house a miniature railway. It was in continuous use until 2003

Nara Dreamland is an abandoned amusement park in Nara, Japan. It operated from 1961 up to 2006, when it was closed due to lack of visitors.

It was built to be an exact replica of California's Disneyland- with a nearly-identical Main Street U.S.A included- but clearly the American version had a great deal more success as it remains open after more than half a century of business.

Two of the most distinctive symbols of Nara Dreamland that you will not find among the abandoned buildings are the mascots, which used to be children dressed up as bearskinned guards. They clearly have little to guard now.

In need of some fairy dust: A grim-looking unfinished castle stands uncompleted in a field after funds were withdrawn due to disagreements with the local government and farmers

Ghost town: The once jolly mock-up American town in Nara Dreamland now looks cold and uninviting

Land of nightmares: nspired by Disney, Nara Dreamland's fairytale castles and fairground rides now look sad and forlorn

Off the rails: Due to lack of visitors Nara Dreamland eventually closed down, but it had operated since 1961